FranStatement

"What is Real Art made of?"

Did Andy Warhol initiate a perpetual Rorschach artistic validity test with his Campbell Soup Cans?  Or Jim Dine's Hearts and Hammers?

Are my images of old tin buildings and rows of Jeeps really "works of art"?  How about my photos of manhole covers and dog paw prints?  If they're muddy or old and rusty, are they then transformed into wabi sabi artistic objects?  After studying and photographing thousands of acres of weeds and mountains of rusty rubble and worshipping in the highest sanctuaries of contemporary art, I would say "Absolutely YES." Common items are not always appreciated.

Great Photos don't all have to be of far away Egyptian pyramids as those photographed by Frick or the mountains of Ansel or of the Beatles of Linda.  Rusty rebar looks fine and yes, can be monumental too!

Likewise there are times in the course of our lives, public grandiose spectacles can occur locally and cause millions of people to visit like the 4th of July Boston Pops concert and fireworks.  They come to us.  When the grand arrives, why not see it and capture it?  

Reminds me of the real life story of my old artist friend named Joe Dasaro, who painted religious paintings with various saints and prayers painted all around his canvases.  I used to proofread his text for spelling mistakes and laugh when he told me that someday he would give one of his paintings to the Pope.  Well Joe had the last laugh when he got to present his painting in person during the Pope's only visit to Boston in 1979 and there was a picture of this as proof in the Boston Globe newspaper.  I'm with you Joe.

Today a virtual and grandiose Ferlinghetti visits me regularly with "Segovia in the Snow" playing guitar, and his famous "dog trotting freely in the streets" sniffing and showing me with my anxious camera, making curious multiple shot panoramas with all the sounds and odors I can carry, around the real old rivers and streets of Metro Boston and the Village section of Everett, etc.

FG



FranBio
-  BFA Painting, Mass College of Art
-  Graduate Courses at Harvard University Extension - School of Visual Arts
-  Member of Allston/Brighton Arts District
-  Member Photographic Resource Center
-  Member Marblehead Art Association

Solo Shows:
-  "Four Seasons" at NewTV Gallery Newton MA
-  "Down by the Riverside" 40+ photos at Marblehead Art Association
-  “Pan Left, Pan Right, Tilt Up, Tilt Down” at NewTV in Newton MA
-  "Mexican Cemetery Photos" at Honan Allston Library
-  "18 Years Later" at Alchemie Gallery in Boston MA

Group Shows:
-  "Passion" show at Marbelhead Art Association
-  "Sporting Traditions" Brighton Allston Heritage Museum (2-man show)
-  "Work by Men"  TLGUTS Gallery, Lynn MA
-  Boston City Hall, Boston Ahts Festival, Logan Airport Shows, Honan Library
-  Numerous Allston Open Studios
-  Boston "Museum of Fine Art" Young Collectors Auction 2004
-  Mass Art Alumni Auction 2010, 2011
-  Newton Fall 2008/9/10 Art Show juried by DeCordova Museum Curatorial fellow and staff
-  17 Manhole Cover Photos in the 2003 Print Triennial show in Krakow Poland
-  Field Gallery on Martha's Vineyard

Installations:
-  “Coach Class Sunrise” Large 10 ft x 30 ft photo installation at Logan Terminal A
-  “Shelburne Falls Flower Bridge” 9 ft tall photo mural installation at Logan Terminal E
-  6 photos in "Mt Auburn Hospital" Intensive Care Unit Hallway
-  3 Photo Murals in Winchester Hospital
-  3 eight foot long photos at Charles River Conservancy" Cambridge Harvard Square Office (more planned soon)

Website Presence:
-  Various Series of photo collections on www.frangardino.com
-  Participant of the Russian website "Sewers of the World Unite" http://sewers.artinfo.ru/  
-  600+ photos accepted for Google Earth maps

Collections of:
-  Hebrew Senior Life retirement facility
-  Visiting Angels services
-  Private individuals in Boston area


www.frangardino.com